We went out to the Sacred Valley with a team that was here

and one of the places we visited was an amazing pottery

place called Seminario. At this place they have a little owl

monkey they rescued. Now, I don't like monkeys as a rule, but..

she was so cute. I kept thinking how much the boys would have

enjoyed her. Sean is missing all his lizards, toads, and tree frogs

that he had been keeping as pets in SC. Wouldn't something like

this make a good replacement?

This is most of the team that was just here. We really enjoyed
getting to know them. We had a great time on our daytrip out
to the Sacred Valley with them.



Through this group we learned a little about a boy's home
which is out in the valley by the river. They had a beautiful place,
but they had built with adobe... A massive flood occured sometime
in March and completely wiped out their home. So now the
"parents" and 42 boys are living in an old hotel they have rented.
They are some really neat people who seem to love the Lord and

really have a heart for their boys. They are hoping to rebuild, but

with stone and concrete this time! It was special to hear their story.

This is all that's left of their home....

Sean and Ellie enjoying a ride together

This is Gregoria, a Quechua lady who has been helping us

out quite a bit. It's been really neat to see the way Katie

has bonded with her. She is carrying Katie in a manta, which

is what all the Quechua ladies carry their babies/children

around in. The little ones really love being carried like this.

Zoe getting a bath

Tim and Zoe getting in some cuddle time

Happy girlie!

P.S.

Sorry I don't have any more great pictures to share at the moment as we've sort of been run off our feet lately! However, I wanted to share with you the wonderful praise that Zoe's heart murmur that the pediatricians were all concerned about has been examined by a heart specialist who has confirmed that there is absolutely nothing wrong with her heart! We are so thrilled! This means that other than her cleft palate and her need to gain weight she appears to be very healthy.Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

Busy, busy!

This is Tim and I with the two leaders from the first summer team,

Jim and Barry.They are actually our neighbors as they are from

Clinton, SC. It was really neat to get to know these guys some.

Katie playing in the playhouse that's part of the huge and

really awesome playground this group was working on for

the orphanage.

This baby girl is the newest addition to the orphanage and

she has been keeping us busy lately! Zoe Anastasia is close

to a month old. She was abandoned at a hospital here by her

family. She was born very tiny and became quite malnourished

due to a severe cleft palate. It has been quite the challenge

trying to feed her with a medicine dropper until we receive

the special bottle nipples that the next group is bringing. She will

have surgery to correct her palate, but she has to be 3 months

old and a healthy weight to begin this process. So our job is to get

her nice and plump in the next couple months. She also has a

heart murmur that could complicate things. Such a tiny, precious

little girl with a tough start in this world...

This was our July 4th party. Maybe no great fireworks, but
we enjoyed some sparklers and I think I can safely say that
a good time was had by all...

My mom showing the kids how it's done